A new virtual version of Red Bull Air Race will give fans and followers of the world’s fastest motorsport series the chance to test their own virtual flying skills in a new tournament-style competition and crown themselves as the first ever Virtual Red Bull Air Race World Champion.

SALZBURG, Austria, March 19 - The 2015 updated version of the popular smartphone racing game ‘Red Bull Air Race – The Game’ has been upgraded and expanded to include a virtual tournament that mirrors the real World Championship of air racing. The Virtual Red Bull Air Race World Championship will culminate with the champs of each race winning invitations to Las Vegas where they will battle it out to become the first ever Virtual Red Bull Air Race World Champion and attend the 2015 season finale race as special guests. The Virtual Champion will be crowned by the actual World Champion and also wins a G-flight experience in a real two-seater Air Race plane.

“Red Bull Air Race – The Game is awesome,” said American Kirby Chambliss, the 2006 Red Bull Air Race World Champion. “The graphics and maneuverability are so realistic. It’s like flying a real Red Bull Air Race race plane.” Chambliss and his world championship rivals Pete McLeod of Canada, Matt Hall of Australia and Hannes Arch of Austria got to take a sneak preview and were instantly smitten by the game, which has detailed renderings of the actual tracks. Thanks to the game, the pilots were able to get their first virtual look at the new course in Chiba, Japan, where they will race on May 16/17. “I love the game,” said McLeod, who like the others also took a look at the other 2015 tracks. “The racing and competition element is exactly like how we race in the real race format like in the Round of 14 and the Round of 8. Plus it’s cool how you can customize the raceplanes.”

That is another new feature of the updated version – The Airplane shop. Players can now purchase their own aircraft there or buy a new racer from among 16 different aircrafts in four different classes. The smartphone racing game, which includes the global tournament, the phenomenal top prizes and more brand-new game content is available free for iOS and Android. It offers gamers the chance to try flying all eight courses of the 2015 world championship. In total there are over 140 events that can be mastered in the racing classes Exhibition, Challenger, Master and Super.

“This game gives fans access to the fastest motorsport series in the world and racing in the game is very realistic,” said Hall, a former Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) top gun fighter pilot who is always looking for ways to improve his preparation. “Racing and aviation fans will love it.” Arch, the 2008 Red Bull Air Race World Champion, also sounded impressed by the new features. “Racing as a real Red Bull Air Race pilot in locations where we actually race is super cool,” said Arch. “It’s fast, competitive and gives fans the chance to navigate the low-level aerial track through the pylons.”

Just like in the real Red Bull Air Race World Championship, the game first offers training in the “pilot camp” in Slovenia that prepares players for racing and teaches the raceplane’s controls in several training units. The original Career and Global Tournament modes will also still be available. All the racetracks in the game are modeled closely on the originals. Those who prefer to engage in duels can try the Global Tournament mode, in which they must face other players from all over the world.

Red Bull Air Race – The Game is available for free download with in-app purchases on the App Store and Google Play in German, English, Italian, Spanish, French, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Russian. www.redbullairrace.com.

The third race of this year’s air racing World Championship will be staged in Rovinj, Croatia. The stop in Rovinj will replace Sochi, Russia, which unfortunately cannot be conducted due to financial and organizational challenges.

“It would have been great to host the first Red Bull Air Race in Russia this year, but due to the current situation with the international capital markets, our partners in Russia are facing extremely high exchange rates. This makes it impossible to set up an infrastructure fulfilling our high standards and also to provide our fans with tickets at affordable prices," said Erich Wolf, General Manager, Red Bull Air Race. “To secure a well-organized eight-race season, we have been forced to make a decision at this stage and believe this change was necessary. However, this gives us the chance to return to Croatia, where we had a spectacular race last year. Nevertheless we still hope to stage a race in Sochi in the future.”

Canada’s Pete McLeod will be out to improve on his 4th place finish in Rovinj 2014, where an incorrect level penalty held him just short of a 2nd place finish. The technical track suited McLeod’s flying style, and the #84 Garmin Racing Pilot welcomes the series return to the Adriatic Sea in 2015. “I was pleased to hear we are headed back to Croatia in 2015. It’s an open sea track with some technical corners and no doubt will be a good challenge” add McLeod.

The eight-stop 2015 Red Bull Air Race World Championship began in Abu Dhabi in February and is now preparing for the first ever stop in Chiba, Japan. After Rovinj, Croatia the remaining races will be held in Budapest, Hungary, (July 4/5), Ascot, United Kingdom (August 15/16), Spielberg, Austria (September 5/6), Fort Worth, Texas, USA (September 26/27), and Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (October 17/18).

ABU DHABI - Canada's Pete McLeod pulled a rabbit out of his hat at the Red Bull Air Race World Championship season opener in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, grabbing a remarkable third place for his Garmin Racing team in the high-speed, low-altitude battle after struggling all week and through Qualifying with an under performing engine.

McLeod, who got the first victory of his career in Las Vegas last year, put in a series of clutch performances under pressure in the new knock-out race format to advance to the Final Four after winning his first two one-on-one duels against Spain's Juan Velarde and then Japan's Yoshi Muroya.

"It was a great day for Garmin Racing and for me - and hopefully this is the first of many podiums to come," said McLeod, who got off to a flying start towards his goal of becoming the youngest world champion in the sport's history at the age of 31 in this year's eight-race championship. "It was a pretty hard-earned result. I was struggling (with the under-power) engine through a lot of the week in training and so I'm thrilled to get on the podium. It's a great way to enjoy the season."

McLeod, who was fifth overall in 2014, said he is hoping to learn from what worked and didn't work last year when he was the fastest qualifier in five of the eight races but only won the one race in Las Vegas. "I looked at last season closely and what I could learn from it," he said. "I'd like to be the fastest guy out there. That's eating me at me a little bit. I want to have that hammer that I can lay down and put the pressure on the others. You need that hammer if you want to make a serious run for the championship."

Britain’s Paul Bonhomme won the first stop of the world's fastest motorsport series on Saturday in Abu Dhabi with a time of 57.787 with Australia's Matt Hall taking second in 57.871 seconds in the race while McLeod took third with a time of 58.843 seconds in the race. In the race, which is the official world championship of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the world's top pilots hit speeds of 370 km/h while flying just above the turquoise waters of the Arabian Gulf.

Abu Dhabi, with its knowledgeable and enthusiastic motorsport fans, hosted the Red Bull Race World Championship season opener for an eighth straight time. There were 14 pilots from 11 nations battling for championship points in the race in which pilots navigate a low-level slalom track made up of 25-meter high air-filled pylons at high speeds while enduring forces of up to 10G. Many of Abu Dhabi's high-society spectators watched the action in style at the Sky Lounge and Race Club, the official and exclusive hospitality programs. The next race will be in Chiba, Japan on May 16/17.

Canada’s Pete McLeod was having a great run in Qualifying at the Red Bull Air Race World Championship season opener in Abu Dhabi on Friday but got hit with a 2-second penalty -- for an incorrect gate passing -- near the end of his run that dropped him from third place to sixth.

McLeod will thus face Spain’s Juan Velarde, who finished ninth in Qualifying, in Saturday’s first knock out Round of 14 in the opening race of the 2015 season. McLeod, who won last year’s Qualifying here in Abu Dhabi and finished third in the 2014 race, has nevertheless recovered some of the speed in his flying after worrying earlier in the week that his engine was underperforming.

“Today there was actually some light at the end of the tunnel,” said McLeod, who had posted a strong time in training earlier on Friday after making some adjustments to his engine that seemed to improve its performance. “We made some little changes and tried some new lines. We made some progress there.”

McLeod said he was looking forward to flying against Velarde, a new Master pilot who finished unexpectedly well in his debut race while many of the top veterans – such as defending champion Nigel Lamb (14) and Hannes Arch (10) struggled on the track after the winds changed.

“With the brackets the way they are, flying against Juan in the first round is a pretty good draw,” said McLeod. “That middle bracket is a less aggressive path to the Final 4. It’s going to be entertaining. A few of the top guys will be racing against each other in the first round.”

McLeod said that he believes that his engine is getting faster in time for the race: “I think I’ve gotten over my frustration. I was pretty worked up the last four days and not being very happy with what I was able to get out of the airplane. I’ve got a new motor and hopefully it’s starting to break in. It’s motorsport and hard to fly well if you don’t have a good engine.”

Britain’s Paul Bonhomme won pole position for the Red Bull Air Race World Championship season opener in Abu Dhabi by posting the fastest time in Qualifying on Friday on the breathtaking turquoise waters of the Arabian Gulf.

The UAE capital of Abu Dhabi will host the Red Bull Race World Championship season opener for an eighth time on Saturday when 14 of the world’s top pilots will be battling for points. The Qualifying results produced a number of surprising results.